Report ALBERTA - CANADA
agreements with the AGLC. Some $1.4bn in net proceeds was received in 2010/11 from this sector with funds going to the Lottery Fund.
There are a total of 13,278 slots in Alberta of which 4,381 are in Edmonton Casinos, 4,584 are in Calgary casinos and 3,478 in casinos in the rest of the state. A further 835 are in Racing Entertainment Centres (RECs). Total net revenue for slots last year was $809m.
Meanwhile all VLTs are located in age restricted liquor licensed venues either VLT retailers or Video Gaming Entertainment Centres (VGERs) of which there are 1,000 in Alberta. VLT retailers can have between two and 10 VLTs whilst gaming centres can have up to 25 VLTs.
The AGLC pays a 15% commission to VLT retailers for the service provided and all remaining income is directed to the Alberta Lottery Fund.
The total number of VLTs remains capped at 6,000 and net revenue last year amounted to $492m. Since 2001 the number of VLT locations has reduced by over 18 per cent even though the number of VLTs out there in the market has remained fairly consistent.
The estimated budget for this year is $796m from slots, $494m from VLTs and $309m from ticket lotteries
Meanwhile the AGLC rejected an idea for online gaming last year after the idea was formulated. The province looked at the possibility of starting up an internet gambling website and met with other provinces about forming a national online gaming site.
Whilst other provinces like British Columbia are moving ahead with their own sites, Alberta has decided against the option saying problem gamblers need to be protected first. It was estimated that 36-39 per cent of gaming revenue is generated by people with a gambling problem in Alberta.
Last year the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission began its VLT replacement programme and WMS Industries, Aristocrat and Spielo International won a portion of this replacement. WMS presented its products for the Alberta and Manitoba markets at G2E in October.
Spielo signed a multi year contract in November 2011 to supply a significant number of the 2,750 VLTs required in total. Meanwhile Spielo International’s INTELLIGEN central system is now live in Quebec, Alberta and Manitoba which means across the three jurisdictions
multiple manufacturers’ machines are connected to the system.
Robin Drummond, VP and General Manager of Public Gaming for Spielo said: “Canada has gone through a major replacement cycle with five major VLT jurisdictions all requesting bids for machines and systems. Spielo has won 11 out of the 11 contracts we’ve bid on, increasing our Canadian market share in both central systems and in the VLT business despite the increased competition of new providers to the market.
“With INTELLIGEN all the machines are communicating to the central system using the Game to System (G2S) open standard protocol which means Canada has the largest concentration of G2S enabled technology in the world. This linkage will ensure the VLTs using INTELLIGEN can use our latest features and applications, ranging from responsible gaming to remote game refreshments to progressives.
“By the time all replacement VLTs are installed in 2013 an expected 34,000 machines will be using INTELLIGEN. Spielo is excited to be a leader in implementing this technology.”
RACING ENTERTAINMENT CENTRES The first organised horse race in Alberta took place in 1905. By the 1920s betting on horse races was active in Alberta and amendments in 1925 formally exempted major fairs from some of the prohibitions against gambling.
In 1996 the government established orse Racing Alberta as an independent non profit organisation to govern and promote horse racing in the state. Today there are three Racing Entertainment Centres (RECs) and Alberta has a 24 per cent share of the total racing sector in Canada.
Revenue from REC slot machines is disbursed to the horse breeding and race industry. The three facilities are Evergreen Park in Grande Prairie, Northlands Park in Edmonton and Rocky Mountain Turf Club in Lethbridge.
The first horse racing simulcast was run at Calgary’s Trout Springs in 1989. In 1991 VLTs were tested at summer fairs in Edmonton and Calgary and these are finally introduced a year later. In 2004 the VLT Replacement Project was completed which saw 6,000 VLTS replaced with updated machines.
The racing sector pays 15% commission from its net revenue from slots to the racing entertainment centre and 85% to
Alberta: Operator profile
Operator: Casino ABS Alberta Casinos: Casino Edmonton, Casino Yellowhead, Casino Calgary and Casino Lethbridge. Information: CASINO CALGARY – This is the only casino in Northeast Calgary so a popular destination for residents. There are eight poker tables, 852 slots, 10 VLTs, 27 table games and off track betting seven days a week. CASINO EDMONTON – This is the
only casino on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River and known as the ‘friendliest’ casino. There are 850 slots, 10 VLTs, 22 table games and 12 poker tables. CASINO LETHBRIDGE – This is the
company’s youngest casino and it has an eclectic ‘cowboy’ chic image and is 44,000sq.ft. There are 427 slots, 10 VLTs, 14 table games and six poker tables. CASINO YELLOWHEAD – This is the
largest casino in Western Canada and has a theme of Hollywood Western and 75,000sq.ft in size. There are 773 slots, 10 VLTs, 27 table games and 12 poker tables. Background: Casino ABS operates four casinos in Alberta and is Canada’s oldest and largest casino operator in Alberta. The company was founded by the late Heinz Oldach who began his career as a carnival ride operator. In 1981 he opened the first permanent casino in Edmonton and changed the company name to Casino ABS.
the Lottery Fund. Total revenue from the horse racing sector amounted to $149m of which $44m came from RECs the largest chunk of $33.3m from Northlands Park, $5.9m from Rocky Mountain and $4.6m from Evergreen Park.
The Horse Racing Association receives 51.66% of slot revenue under a 2002 Government of Alberta agreement. In 2011 this came to $22.7m and $14.7m went to the Alberta Lottery Fund whilst RECs retained 15% or $6.6m.
February 2013 PAGE 107
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